The Past Ain't Always Dead
by frecklefacehunter
Summary: A long time ago, Daryl Dixon was in love with Amaleen Blake. Also a long time ago, she left him in the middle of the night without so much as a word and broke his heart. Now the world has come to an end and survivors are few and far between. So how in the world did they happen to come across each other in a world like this? Daryl/OC
1. Checkpoint

_**Story Info**_

**Title: **The Past Ain't Always Dead

**Fandom: **The Walking Dead

**Rating: **M

**Pairing: **Daryl/OC

**Summary: **What felt like a lifetime ago, Daryl Dixon was in love with Amaleen Blake. That also happened to be when she left him in the middle of the night without so much as a word and broke his heart. Now the world has come to an end and survivors are few and far between. So how on Earth did they find each other again? Secrets will tear them apart even further and perhaps the real truth isn't what either of them expected. But can they figure everything out before tragedy strikes?

**Spoilers: **Seasons 1 and 2

.x.x.x.x.

_**Chapter Info**_

**Title: **Checkpoint

**Number: **1/?

**Warning: **Language

**Author's Note: **This is my first story for fandom. :) Just a quick note; the story info will only be on this chapter as it won't ever change. However I will update the chapter info every chapter so look out for that. I hope everyone likes it and will leave a review! I'd love to hear thoughts on this.

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Not many people see the inside of Daryl Dixon. Not many people see the man beyond who he chooses to show them. He's never been one to over-share. When he was younger, Merle and their father beat it into him that feelings were for pussies and women. A man did not show emotions outwardly. He didn't say the "L" word, he didn't beg, and he most certainly didn't cry. But when Daryl was twenty-five, he met Amaleen May Blake, a twenty-one year old who was definitely out of his league. Fresh out of college, smart and funny, and beautiful as all get out. Made for some lawyer or doctor who could afford to buy her shit like cars and boats and clothes and houses. Not for Daryl who barely made it out of eighth grade and nothing past that. Safe to say he fell fast.

But two years later, Amaleen had enough of her boyfriend's family hating her. At least that's what the note said when she left him in the middle of the night, clutching nothing but a pillow that smelled like her. But Amaleen left Daryl heartbroken and went clear across the country, up the east coast to a small, rural town in New York. Daryl never knew it was Merle who said anything and when their father died, put complete trust in the man, including the hatred for Amaleen.

Ten years later, that's when the world fell. Walkers turned up all over the country. Merle took Daryl and ran. They fought, they hunted, they lived on the road. They came across a group of strangers who oddly enough took them in, despite their lack of respect for anyone else much less the lives of others. They trekked all through Georgia for somewhere safe, but finally came to realization that it just wasn't safe. They lost so many people already—including Merle—and they just didn't have it in them to fight for their state anymore. It belonged to the dead and they left with heavy hearts. None of them had left longer than a few days before. Maybe a small run across the boarder into South Carolina for ammo or food.

They finally found salvation in Autryville, North Carolina. The town was so small that it had a corner store, a church, and a post office, nothing else. They decided to hold up in the church. It seemed walkers stayed away as if it was the consecrated grounds that kept them away. They had no clue why, it wasn't as if they were demons or something, but it was good enough for them. They boarded up the windows and sealed the doors at night. It had a small, windowless kitchen in the back and was big enough for everyone to stay in comfortably.

It was Daryl's turn to guard one night when he saw the first movement outside. He had his bow ready, knowing better than to use a gun considering if this was the only walker in town, they could avoid others with a clean, silent kill versus shooting up the whole place and drawing others to them. They used the bell tower as look-out and he had a perfect shot. Scope or not, he was a great shot. Almost better than Rick. He crouched down and looked between the wooden beams of the railing. His eyes narrowed in concentration and he aimed the bow right at the thing.

Of course it took him only a second to realize that it wasn't a normal walker. In fact, it seemed to be looking around, considering its options not just mindlessly wandering for a scent of the living. And then in the next second, he realized it wasn't a walker in all, but in fact a person. He grabbed his bow and quickly ran down the stairs and into the main room, past most of the sleeping bodies and to Rick asleep next to the door. He refused to let anyone else sleep there. Daryl honestly hated to wake him up, the man seriously had issues sleeping and checked their perimeter every thirty minutes, but if there was a survivor out there, they had to make sure he/she wasn't dangerous and didn't bring a herd of walkers in his/her path. He gently nudged Rick's arm with the toe of his boot and the former deputy was instantly awake, gun in his hand and his eyes unfocused, but swinging around anyway.

"Calm down," Daryl bit out in a soft hiss. "Gotta survivor outside. Gonna shoot 'em when I realized they ain't limpin'. Gotta check 'em out. Ya with me?" Rick's eyes slowly focused and then he blinked quickly as if he just realized Daryl was there. Daryl rolled his eyes and sighed softly in impatience. He hated dealing with others, but they saved his life again and again so least he could do was return the favor. Rick nodded at him and grabbed another gun before walking over to the sleeping couple of Glenn and Maggie. He leaned down to nudge at Glenn and get the kid to his sleepy feet.

"Daryl says there's a human outside. Wanna help?" Glenn blinked same as Rick, clearing the sleep from his eyes and mind, before grabbing a gun and nodding. He kissed Maggie on the head and shooshed her when she started to stir. She fell back into an easy sleep and the three men made for the door, all the while Daryl ignoring that stupid, useless fucking ache in his chest every time he saw people acting like a couple. He hated the bitch for leaving him, he shouldn't give a shit what the rest did with their "significant others."

As quietly as they could, they took away the wood that was blocking the door and opened only one side of the church. They closed it and walked down the steps. Rick pulled out a flashlight and found the silhouette of the person Daryl was talking about. It quickly swiveled their way and Rick made sure to show that they weren't walkers, both with the light and the click of Glenn's gun.

"Hey," Rick called softly, hand on his revolver. Glenn had his gun up and Daryl swung his bow close to his chest. He wanted to look intimidating, but not like he was just going to shoot without asking questions, and he didn't want to be caught with his pants down neither. Rick held up his left hand in a white flag sort of fashion. "You a walker?"

As if walkers could answer back. Daryl scoffed softly. "No." The answer was short, clipped, and whispered. And female. But definitely human. Because...walkers couldn't talk. Simple as that. "Obviously you ain't either."

Rick let out a little sigh and shook his head even in the darkness. "No. My name is Rick Grimes. I was a sheriff's deputy in Georgia. This is Glenn and Daryl. What's your name?"

The female didn't answer. Instead she walked into the light of Rick's flashlight and stole the breath from Daryl. He understood why she didn't answer. One look into those familiar green eyes told him exactly who she was.

.x.x.x.x.

**-Three Days Earlier-**

"Are you fuckin' serious, man?" Daryl burst out before he could stop it. Of course the others just rolled their eyes. They were used to Daryl's outbursts and annoyances. He glared at all of them as he swung his bow over his shoulder. Apparently it was okay to plan shit while he was out hunting. He threw the rabbits and woodchuck to the ground, ignoring the way the others jumped in mild surprise and to avoid being hit by the dead animals and narrowing his eyes. "I ain't leavin' Georgia. I ain't never leave before and I ain't gonna start now."

"Then stay here if you'd like," Lori said with a frown. "It's not safe for us." She put an instinctive, protective hand over her small baby-belly. "Any of us. Going north is the only option. Rick says if we clear out a path small enough to get our caravan through here," She pointed to a point on the boarder between Georgia and South Carolina, "then it's smooth sailing north."

"Georgia's my home," Daryl said. "_Mine._ I ain't abandoning it just 'cause some lamebrains decided they'd like to snack on it."

"It belongs to them now," Rick chimed in. "This mile of road is the only safe place in the state. Forget the cities, forget the woods. It's all walker territory. If we get out of Georgia and find some small town to set up camp in, we might stand a chance. Sitting on our thumbs won't get us anywhere."

"And running like pussies will?"

"We hafta run," Rick spat. "That's all we can do! If you wanna stay and die, go right ahead. We're moving out come first morning light. If you're goin', be ready. If not, it's been nice workin' with ya." He turned and walked away. Daryl can safely say he likes the "new Rick." Old Rick would've sat there and discussed the pros and cons calmly and rationally for hours. Daryl hated calm and rational, that's why he was a Dixon. He lived for the fight no matter with humans, animals, or walkers. Hand-to-hand combat was what he was good at. So having Rick yell at him and storm off got his blood pumping and really, he wanted to run after the man and pick a fight. But the others would stop him. Either way, he could get along a lot better with short-fused, irrational Rick than the mild, rational one.

Daryl shrugged and walked over to his bike. He didn't want to camp with the others, he never did, so he pulled out extra bows, a gun, and a canteen of water and sat right there on the ground, his eyes locked on the trees. He knew Rick would take care of the other side, that's just how things worked with them. When they were on the road, one would take the front and the other the rear. They were the strongest with the least to lose. At least according to Rick. Daryl just didn't ask what was going on with the whole Carl and Lori situation.

Deep into the night, Daryl was still awake while the others slept. Carl and Lori under a tree, Glenn and Maggie by the fire, Hershel and Beth in the car, Carol curled up in the middle of the leaves, and T-Dog sleeping by Rick's post as he was second look-out to Rick. They took turns switching their points, but Daryl made it clear that if he got tired, he would say something. Nobody needed to ask him and he didn't need a second. He was strong enough to know where his limits were. He was never one for sleep anyway. Took up too much time and he was more clear-headed with only one or two hours under his belt. He was told that wasn't healthy, but he also knew he didn't give a shit.

There were a couple times he thought he heard something and crept towards the woods, but nothing came out of the pitch black. No growling, no more noises to accompany them. He was probably losing it or something. Go figure. When morning came, he was—as usual—the first one up and ready to pack. Rick was looking at him funny as he got his bike ready to go. He just shrugged, not answering, and threw his bow over his back.

Everyone was ready to go a few minutes later and Rick told Daryl to take the rear so he could lead. They lost the RV, but they still had the red pick-up truck and the green Honda that Shane had fixed. Glenn and the Greenes rode in that while the Grimes', Carol, and T-Dog got the truck. Daryl, as usual, rode by himself. Carol had rode with him for awhile, but she distance herself from him when he made it clear that he wasn't up for anything like romance or even friendly entanglements. That wasn't who Daryl Dixon was. Well, not for about ten years, but he wasn't going into that pile of shit. Not with Carol, not with anyone.

They needed to get to the check point between South Carolina and Georgia by nightfall. Way before nightfall. They couldn't camp there and they couldn't break a path in the walkers in the dark. It was just impossible. Rick needed to pick up speed and Daryl revved his engine, hoping the former deputy understood. His father long ago taught him how to tell time by reading the sun. He kept a watch on it and when it was almost five, he beeped his horn and the caravan pulled over. He pulled out his bow, knowing this was a bit of a walker hot spot. Rick was frowning when he got out.

"Man, we gotta pick up speed and pretty damn quick or we gotta fin'a way ta camp fer the night. It's 'bout five so we only gotta coupla hours of complete daylight left." He glanced around at the group and saw the other men exchange a glance while the women shifted. They all knew it wasn't safe to camp there, but they seriously overestimated their timing. Unless they pumped it up to about seventy miles an hour, there's no way they could make it there with enough time to clear the checkpoint and find a safe place to camp.

"Let's try it," Rick finally said. "We'll see how far we can get, push up the speed. If we can't make it, we'll find the best place to camp. Meaning we'll set up a boundary and only get four or five hours before we start driving again" He glanced around the group. "Okay, everyone, let's go."

Daryl silently got back on the bike and impatiently waited for everybody else to get situated again in their vehicles and they were off. Daryl almost wish it was just a simple hunting trip. Or hell even just riding for fun. Not that he'd ever admit that. But he used to steal Merle's bike all the time and just go riding. He shook away the thoughts.

Pushing it up to seventy-five, they made it in time. They stopped about half a mile away and already there were thinned out crowds of walkers. Rick and Daryl instantly jumped into motion, grabbing knives and going after them. Glenn and T-Dog brought up the rear as the strongest two started to make a hole in the crowd.

"Ready?" Rick said, already panting. Daryl glanced at him and nodded.

"Let's do this shit."


	2. Clearing

**Title: **Clearing

**Number:** 2/?

**Warning: **Language, violence, death, gore, blood, horror

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry for the wait! So if y'all haven't noticed, since this takes place between seasons 2 and 3, this is like replacement season 3. (I started writing this before season 3 came out.) So there won't be a Governor or Michonne or Merle, but I haven't figured out the fate of Andrea, Lori, Hershel, or T-Dog yet. It will all come to me sometime later. :) On a different note, wow, thanks for the feedback I've gotten! I very much appreciate it. :) (Note: Un-beta'd as of right now)

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It wasn't a secret that Daryl was good at fighting. His whole life he had been getting into fights over one reason or another. He would admit, though, that most of those fights were Merle's fault and his father only persuaded Daryl to fight harder. Neither of those reasons led to Daryl's childhood being anything except fucked up and the only thing that changed his life at all was Amaleen and she completely turned it around. Her betrayal and the constant reminder of her being his first and only love weighed on his mind, the fact that she got away without telling him and just didn't even bother to tell him the truth is what bothered him the most.

So imagine his anger, the way he acted...Merle, his father, Amaleen. The main stressers in his life and the main reasons he was so damn good at his current job. He just imagined he was hacking at any of the three, putting a bullet or an arrow through them in a way to extract revenge from them fucking him up so bad.

Daryl and Rick went in guns (and crossbow) blazing. They had their knives tight in their hands and swung them as hard as they could towards the onslaught of walkers that started to come out of buildings around them. _Shit, _he thought to himself. They all knew it'd be a long, hard fight but there was more there than even they could anticipate. Daryl could already feel blood splattering him and he could hear the others around there grunting and panting as they dove in.

He saw T-Dog and Glenn start in the fight out of the corner of his eye along with Maggie. Hershel, Beth, Lori, Carl, and Carol back by the cars. Hershel would start firing if things got a little too out of hand. But deep down, Daryl was a man who wanted to protect those that couldn't fight from the things that could hurt them. He'd rather be chewed on by a walker before admitting that, though he had a feeling that a couple of his friends already knew, he was too proud to admit that he'd risk his life for the others around him before he'd save himself.

Daryl was shooting and slashing, his eyes tracking where his arrows went so he could gather them when he was done. He knew he'd lose a couple, but he he could always make some more. He watched as Rick moved, covering his ass the same way Rick was covering him. The same way T-Dog and Glenn were covering each other. He'd never say it out loud, but they were a family and he protected his family. Even if they decided they didn't want him, he was loyal. That was just a flaw he had.

When he heard moans coming from behind him, he turned just in time to keep a walker from getting too close to those standing by the car. Lori looked up at him in shock and he nodded once before turning back to help Rick and Glenn. He didn't know how many walkers were in this little shit-hole town, but he could tell from the way they kept filing out of buildings and houses that most if not all the township had been bit. He could see someone's attempts to board up some of the older, stronger buildings to keep walkers out, but he could see by the broken doors and he shattered windows that the attempt had been futile.

Daryl grunted as a walker crept up next to him, lunging at him, knocking the knife from his hand. He was fighting it to make sure it didn't get near his skin or try and take chunk out of him, grabbing at the extra knife stuck in his belt. He let out a yell as he was nipped at and plunged the knife into the thing's eye-socket. Carol quickly rushed towards him, grabbing his arm. Luckily no skin was broken and he gently pushed her away with a slight look as he then continued to stab the walker. When he was satisfied with its second death, he stood up, the front of his shirt drenched in sweat and blood. He knew he probably smelled worse than he looked, but when they cleared out a place, he would find the nearest creek and take a dip in it.

He ran around to collect some of his arrows having used most of them to shoot from farther away in effort to pull up the rear behind the other three. He reloaded quickly, but decided to drop the crossbow to swing around to his back and use his gun. He knew he was better with the crossbow, but the gun was easier to load and reload. Rick had already planned to find the nearest sporting good store or police station to grab their weapons, and it looked like it'd be even easier than they had originally thought.

Finally they started to make a dent after about an hour of fighting. Hershel, Beth, Lori, Carl, and Carol had picked up some weapons and started firing from their position by the car, Hershel taking lead. "Let's push them back a mile that way!" Rick yelled, pointing towards the tree line. "Once we get half a mile out, switch to knives and then get away quietly. I don't want to draw their attention back to town." The others agreed with him even if they didn't say it. Rick was the leader, they unanimously agreed even if some people fought or had their own opinions. Daryl sure as hell wasn't going to lead and Glenn wasn't up for it. Rick was a born leader.

Lori stayed towards the back with Beth and Carl while Hershel and Carol went to fight with the others. They needed it and they fought quieter than they ever had before. There were even walkers around they that didn't notice them until the wind sent their smell or until there was one of their own dropping to the ground next to them. They were all tired and won out, but they needed more cleared. At least to be safe for the night, they didn't need to go to sleep and wake up to find themselves surrounded by a herd.

Rick signalled them almost an hour in. He nodded once and pointed back towards the center of town. They all stopped their fighting, softly panting into the night air. Daryl's eyes flickered over the walkers that still milled about, not even looking in their direction. They slowly made their way back to the center of town, their steps dull and full of trepidation. None of them were comfortable with sleeping someplace unknown without having a cover of the perimeter. Daryl already figured he'd be up most of the night so he would offer to take watch.

Silently they grabbed supplies and went into the nearest building, it looked like it used to be a bank. If they knew they wouldn't get locked in, Daryl would suggest sleeping in the vaults. But it would be better to have windows, so with Glenn and Rick leading the way, guns raised, they made their way upstairs where the offices of the manager and other ranking employees were. They slowly split themselves up and were surprised to only come across one walker, the man they assumed was the bank manager himself as he looked like he was a walker from the twenties. T-Dog took him out easily and he and Glenn threw it out the window.

Rick took Lori and Carl across the hall while Glenn, Maggie, Beth, and Hershel took the room they were in. T-Dog and Daryl looked at each other and then shrugged, heading over to the smallest room at the back. T-Dog instantly laid down while Daryl grabbed his bag and dragged it out of the room. He grabbed his gun and mumbled to Rick where he was going before heading outside.

The sun was just setting and Daryl breathed in, hoping that he could just smell the scent of fresh air, but of course all he smelled was the rotting bodies of the walkers they took down. He grunted as he grabbed his knife out, walking quickly and quietly through the bodies. He didn't care of the others slept, he needed to be clean for once in his life.

Expert tracker that he was, he was able to avoid the most traveled paths—assuming they were walkers and animals both—and made it to a nearby stream without any headaches. He dropped his stuff to the ground and looked around before stripping to his boxers and sliding in. Luckily it smelled clean as it usually had remanence of walker in it, but it wasn't like he was going to drink it anyway.

As he cleaned the dirt, blood, and grime from his body, he couldn't help but stare up at the dusk sky. It seemed like the world was still the same the more he looked. He could almost hear the grinding of dirty tractor engines and the distant sound of hunters catching their prey. If he closed his eyes, he could almost smell freshly mown grass the the scent of pie from Mrs. Baker down the street. He couldn't help a small smile quirk the corner of his mouth. Even as he heard rustling far off into the woods, he pretended, just for a moment, that it was a random deer sneaking towards him and not the sound of a walker stumbling along the leaves.

He decided it was time to get out when the sun sunk behind the hills. He didn't want to get stuck in the woods without a flashlight, which made his face fall to a frown as he realized how idiotic it was to go out there without one. Getting stuck in the woods with walkers so close by wasn't something he was going to jump at the chance to do.

He grabbed new clothes from his bag and dunked his dirty stuff in the stream before heading back. He knew the women had enough on their hands without having to worry about washing his clothing, too. He was a grown man, besides. He didn't need to be looked after.

The trip back to town was quicker than the one to the stream. He stayed in his earlier path and made no sound as he crept back into the bank. Once inside, he found Rick's room and told him he was going to find the roof exit and take watch. He saw their fearless leader was too tired to argue, so Daryl left after that and made for the outer offices. He finally found it in a large janitor's closet. Taking his crossbow, a gun with a scope, and a knife he made himself a little perch on the roof and took a seat. He really wished he had some smokes and whiskey, but he just settled for some previously-boiled well water from the farm.

He watched as the sun completely disappeared, leaving the land in complete darkness. It was surreal to look over the landscape and see slight, slow movements of walkers down the road. He looked around and saw no other movement and was satisfied to sit down and make sure that the movement he could see didn't come closer. Taking a "hit" from the water jug, he slowly fell into his rhythm of watch, not once wishing he was one of them asleep downstairs.


End file.
